An ongoing project in Iraq is working to bring
back the country's once high numbers of honeybees, which had
been nearly wiped out by disease and war. Bees' contribution
to food production and nutrition, both by pollinating food
crops and by producing honey, is critical in a country
struggling to fight off widespread malnutrition. But a new
disease is now threatening the bees, destroying much of the
progress that had been made since the end of the Gulf War.

Iraqi
beekeeper shows off healthy honeybees

In the early 1980s, "Every farmer a beekeeper" was
the message and more than 500 000 traditional hives were
active in Iraq. Then, from 1985 to 1987, apiculturists
worldwide were hit hard by the spread of the Asian predatory
mite, Varroa jacobsoni. Iraq was no exception. But the
devastation caused by the Gulf War in this country in 1991
has made the struggle to fight back and rebuild the once
thriving beekeeping industry more difficult in Iraq than in
most other countries.

The Iraqi Beekeepers' Association estimates that 90
percent of the over 500 000 honeybee colonies in Iraq had
been lost to Varroa jacobsoni by 1987, and that by the end
of the war, a mere 500 hives remained. The fighting
prevented beekeepers from caring for their hives, many of
which were broken up for timber, and their honey plundered.

In response, FAO and the UN Department of Humanitarian
Affairs funded the US$200 000 Emergency Assistance Project
to Restore Honeybee Populations for Crop Pollination and
Honey Production in Iraq. The project aims to help
beekeepers establish sustainable beekeeping techniques and
adequate hygiene practices.

Bees are a valuable source of nutritious food,
particularly for the vulnerable rural poor and their
children, many of whom are now malnourished. In addition to
this, their value as pollinators of agricultural crops is
huge. "Economically, bees are 50 times more valuable as
pollinators than they are as honey producers", according to
Nicola Bradbear, the FAO consultant responsible for the
project.

Although it is difficult to quantify the reduction in
crop pollination by bees in Iraq, poorly formed fruit is on
sale in local markets, a typical sign of inadequate
pollination. In Mosul, north of Baghdad, people have been
employed to pollinate gourd crops manually, as farmers have
realized that natural pollination is inadequate.

But Bradbear, back from her second visit to Iraq in early
July, reported that progress has been made in helping
beekeepers treat diseases and develop sustainable management
techniques.

The most recent threat to Iraq's honeybee population is
the so-called "crawling disease". First reported in early
1994, one year later the disease had already considerably
reduced the 30 000 bee colonies re-established under the
project. Believed to be caused by secondary viral or other
infections, crawling disease causes severe weakening of the
bees and loss of honey production.

The consultant stressed that the aim of the project is to
promote sustainable beekeeping practices so that Iraq will
not have to rely on continuous imports of medicine and basic
supplies to keep disease situations like this one under
control. A collection of technical books on beekeeping has
been supplied, as well as chemical treatment, medication and
technical information for treatment, rollers, beeswax and
foundation making equipment. A national consultant is to be
appointed to ensure that apiculturists across the country
benefit from the information.

"Iraqis regard honey as a special, precious food,"
Bradbear said. Under current conditions it can only become
more so.